West Hartford Youth Football – Week Five Game Summaries

The West Hartford Youth Football League (WHYFL) continued its 59th season Sunday afternoon at Sterling Field in West Hartford and at Westwood and Farmington High School fields in Farmington, with a full slate of games at the Mighty Mite (7, 8 and 9 year olds), Pee Wee (10 and 11 year olds), and Pony (12,13,14 year olds) divisions.

PONY DIVISION

Brewer Paving Eagles 39 - Farmington A Squad Black 8The Eagles ran their record to 5-0 with a convincing 39-8 victory over Farmington Black. The Eagles dominated both sides of the ball piling up over 250 yards of offense with an array of ball carriers and receivers while the defense shut out Black's offense.

After a slow start, the Eagles got going on their second drive of the day going 71 yards on 6 plays capped off by a 15 yard TD run by QB Jeff LaRosa. LaRosa and RB Anthony Palace accounted for 70 of the 71 yards on the drive. LaRosa's conversion pass to AJ Guevara was good to give the Eagles an 8-0 lead. On Black's next drive, LaRosa scooped up a fumble and went 21 yards for a score. LaRosa hit David Regan on the conversion pass to put the score at 16-0.

On the next kickoff, Sean Guevara executed a perfect onside kick recovered by LaRosa to give the Eagles the ball at the Farmington 44. Palace ripped off a 37 yard run and LaRosa hit AJ Guevera for a 7 yard TD pass. The conversion pass from LaRosa to Palace was good to put the Eagles up 24-0.

On the Eagles next drive, Rodrigo Munoz carried 2 times for 21 yards and AJ had a big 19 yard gain to get the Eagles within scoring range. LaRosa then dropped back and hit Shea Henderson for a 24 yard TD pass and after Todd Crevedi's conversion run was good, the halftime score was 31-0 Eagles.

Black got on the board with a 70 yard interception return on the Eagle's first drive of the second half. After Guevara ran back the kick 60 yards to the Farmington 9, Miles Sierra pounded the ball in the end zone with a strong run to put the Eagles up 37-8. The final scoring came on a safety as Guevara sacked Black's running back in the end zone.

The Eagles line was once again dominate, opening up huge holes for their running backs and putting pressure on Black the entire game. The Eagles will face the Wildcats in what should be a good matchup at Sterling field at 2 on Sunday.

The Wildcats kicked the ball off to Farmington, who started at their own 35. Consecutive false starts put the visitors at first and 20, but a 42 yard pass brought them to the Wildcat 33 where Nolan Tibball forced a fumble recovered by West Hartford.

The Wildcat offensive front line of Gavin Baker, Zander Boehm, Dario Laraia and Owen Scigulinsky opened a big hole for Daquan Shaw to power his way to a brilliant 65 yard touchdown run. The 2-point conversion to George Andrews spotted the 'Cats to an early 8-0 lead.

The Wildcats kept the pressure on, with Andrew Skwiot recovering the ensuing onside kick and setting the WeHa boys up with first and 10 at the Farmington 47.

The WeHa running game, paired with offsides and face mask penalties against the 'Hogs brought the Green to the Farmington 22. Hughey Wells pushed it up the middle to the 17 as the quarter ended with West Hartford leading 8-0.

West Hartford's ground game was effective but continued to be offset by penalties as the half ended with WeHa retaining a 8-0 lead.

The Wildcats received the kickoff and during their first series, Daquan busted open a long run to the Farmington 5. With first and goal, the 'Cats feisty front line paved the way for another Daquan score. Matt Keller caught the 2-point conversion, and the 'Cats were up 16-0.

On West Hartford's next possession, a great lead block by Marcos Cruz freed up a sweep by Hughey, but on the next play, Nolan was stripped and the ball was recovered by the 'Hogs at their 25.

As the fourth quarter started, the Mud Hogs got on the board with a long TD run and a 2-point conversion to bring the score to 16-8.

Starting at the WeHa 45, Daquan stiff-armed and powered his way for a 55-yard touchdown run. The two point conversion attempt was incomplete, and the 'Cats lead increased to 22-8.

After the teams traded field position, the 'Hogs completed a 30yd TD pass. Nathan Bones knocked down the attempted two point conversion but the lead was cut to 22-14 with two minutes remaining.

Dylan Lindberg recovered Farmington's onside kick and the Wildcats took over on their own 45. Daquan didn't waste any time busting up the middle for another long TD run on the first play of the series. Dean Edwards scored the extra point on a keeper to put the game at 29-14.

Farmington would not give up, and as time expired, they scored to leave the final at 29-20 West Hartford.

Hartford Healthcare 49ers 28 - Farmington B Squad Blue 0The 49ers made their second trip to FHS to take on the Farmington Blue squad. After stopping the initial Blue drive, the 49ers' Josiah Rivers scored on a 40 yard dash to the end zone making it 7-0 early. The teams swapped offense and defense on the next set of series with Blue making headway with their passing game. The 49ers eventually got on the board again due to a graceful run by Divine Edwards. The 49ers ran an unscripted trick play involving a fumble and swatting of the ball in the end zone…"Izzy" Henriques-Sento recovered the loose ball for the extra point; 14-0 Niners.

The 49ers received the kickoff to start the second half. On that initial drive Divine Edwards got his second score of the day making it 21-0. For the remaining time of the game Blue controlled the ball and managed several decent drives. The Niner's defense bent but didn't break and was able to stop Blue's onslaught either with turnovers on downs or an interception by Matt Schwab. Late in the fourth quarter, Henriques-Sento was able to poke through the Blue's defensive front line and 30 yards later found the end zone. After the PAT the score was 28-0 49ers and it remained so until time ran out.

Farmington Blue saw strong performances from their QB Tabor Engle as well as TE Austin Robert and wide out Jake Schaedler. The entire 49er defense held strong on Sunday, being pushed to the breaking point but not giving in. Divine Edwards was outstanding on both sides of the ball; with excellent supporting efforts from Marcus Ramsey, Hugh Tyrell, and Jack Lubin.

The Watts Group Giants 27 - Farmington B Squad Black 13In week 5 of the WHYFL schedule the Watts Group Giants traveled to Farmington High School to square off against the Farmington B Squad Black Mudhogs. The Giants won the coin flip and chose to receive the ball. On their first possession with strong running by Damien Thompsen, Rowan Sierra and Kevin Tiernan the Giants moved the ball 60 yards and scored on a Sierra 10 yd. run. The extra point failed. On the Mudhog's next possession, they turned the ball over on downs, giving the Giants great field position at the Mudhogs 40. The Giants stayed with the ground game with strong runs by Sean Stegmaier, Thompsen, Sierra and Tiernan and eventually a scoring on a run up the middle by Thompsen. The extra point was denied leaving the score 12-0 starting the second quarter. Farmington took the ensuing kickoff back for a score on a great run by #44 down the left sideline. The extra point was converted making score 12-7. The Mudhogs converted an on sides kick and recovered it. They then moved the ball down the field 40 yds. and eventually scored right before time ran out at the half. The extra point was denied. Farmington Black entered the half leading 13-12.

The Second half kickoff was taken by the Mudhogs with momentum on their side. The Giants defense stepped up quickly with relentless pressure by LB's Richie Aponte, Riley McCoy and Rowan Sierra. The Giants got the ball back after forcing a turnover on downs. With great field position, the Giants continued to pound the ball behind strong offensive line play of Patrick Schwab, Ryan Bushnell, Jayden Fuller, Eduardo Terrero, Gabe Rooney and Rich Aponte. They eventually scored on a twenty yard run by Kevin Tiernan . Extra point was converted on a run up the gut by Damien Thompsen leaving score 19-13 in favor of the Giants. On the next possession the Mudhogs converted a few first downs before trying to go to the air on a screen pass that was intercepted by DB Peter Langevin. The Giants then moved the ball down filed and scored on a ten yard run by Sierra. Extra point was converted on a pass play from QB Luke Wilson to Sierra making score 27-13. The Mudhogs played an excellent well fought game. The Giants showed perseverance to play a strong second half allowing no points with great defensive effort by Richie Aponte, Peter Langevin, Patrick Schwab, Marcus Thompsen, Zach Peterson, Sean Stegmaier. Giants move onto face the Patriots next week.

The Patriots' offense was led by a bevy of ball carriers, as Robert Parrotta, Dillon Bent, Wyatt Reid, Logan Murphy, and Joey and Tommy LaSpada each reached the end zone behind solid blocking from Dylan Swift, Luke Duzan, Logan Murphy, Christian Maldonado, Joey LaSpada, Beverly, Ben Brockway, and Aidan Dorian.

After forcing a three and out by Farmington White, the Patriots scored on their first offensive play from scrimmage, as Parrotta rambled 50 yards for the score behind solid lead blocks from Brockway, Beverly, Duzan, and Bent. Quarterback Jack Brown connected with Tommy LaSpada for the two point conversion, and the lead stood at 8-0. DJ Romano mad a great heads up play on the ensuing kickoff and recovered on sides kick to give the Patriots favorable field position. Bent scored two plays later and the Patriots extended their lead to 14-0. Bent and Parrotta each notched an additional score, and Joey LaSpada recorded his first rushing conversion of his career to extend the Patriots' lead to 27-0 entering the half.

Patriot rookies Dylan Swift, Logan Murphy, and Tommy LaSpada saw extended playing time in the second half and powered the Patriot offense on several hard runs and passing receptions.

Following a great interception by Dylan Swift, Murphy notched a 50 yard score, and Swift had several big carries to methodically move the Patriot offense down the field. Farmington White was finally able to get on the board on a nice rushing play to narrow the lead to 34-8. On the ensuing kickoff, Reid followed the lead blocks of Duzan and Bent en route to a fantastic 60-yard return to end the game.

Next week, Farmington C Squad Black will match up against the Steelers, while the Cowboys will play the Jets.

FLAG DIVISION

Dick's Sporting Goods 30 - Joey's Pizza Pie (Black) 12Dick's Sporting Goods started with the ball week 5, handing off to Brendan Kennedy on the first play who shake and baked his way down the right sideline for a 75 yd td run.Joey's followed with Jake Monaco running for a touchdown.

On Dick's next series, Brady Cersosimo got the ball ran left, cut back right and then ran 40 yards diving at the right pylon for a TD. Dick's defense continued to play well being led by Sean Moelti, Charlie Ganey, and Tommy Hussey getting multiple tackles each. With the ball back, Dick's Ben Walsh had a 60 yard run before being tackled close to the endzone, setting up Donovan Lampkin for a 5 yard TD run right up the gut.

Joey's continued on with a mix of passing and running. Joey's Maddox Deandra ran 20+ yards on two plays while Jacob Juliano caught a 20 yard pass for a TD

Late in the game Brendan Kennedy turned a 4th and long into a 50 yard TD run thanks to strong downfield blocking by Tighe Johnston and Henry Tamccio.In the final series, Brady Cersosimo raced down the field while time expired scoring for his second time of the day.

Joey's Ryan Mcreith Jr played well on both side of the ball with a great defensive stop and running 30 yards after catching pass

Mooyah (Green) 25 - AC Petersens (Blue) 18The Mooyah's (Green Team) faced off against the AC Peterson (Blue Team). This week the Mooyah's played a tough defense and offensive game. As for the game highlights for the Mooyah's team in the first quarter Joe O'Connell, Leo Sussman scored long run touchdowns. An extra point run was created by Dominic Burgos. In the second Quarter Ben Halpert and Dominic Burgos scored two additional touchdowns capping the team scoring for the game. The defensive pressure was a team effort as this allowed the Mooyah's to turn over the ball to gain possession a few times during the game.

Sweet Frog (Purple) 25 - Fresh Ink (Orange) 22The boys put on their track shoes on Sunday with 5 touchdown runs that averaged over 55 yards in a sprint, Sweet Frogs Ravens 25-22. The Orange Team. Despite a gallant effort on a touchdown saving tackle by Calvin Borio on the first play, the Orange scored on their first possession on a 25 yard run from Jonathan Garcia. A two point conversion was added with a nice catch by Xavien Correa. The drive featured a key 35 yard run by Julian Watson

The Ravens struck back on a Griffin Krupp catch and run for 60 yards. Ben Goldstein scampered close to the goal line that lead the way to Tyler Redden's score.Later in the first half Jonathan Garcia scored again on a 55 yard run down the left sideline. The drive had tough running plays from Nico Gilbert and Ryan Miale (14-6)

On a 15 yard slant for the Ravens, Redden took one the distance. Ben Goldstein dashes through the defense to add the extra point that tightened the score 14-13. Playing as a team is essential, strong efforts were put in on defense by Calvin Borio, Solly Levy.Ravens came out flying in the second half, taking to the air. Goldstein started the half with a quick out route for a solid gain. Krupp took a 12 yard seam rout up the middle for 20 yards setting up the crossing route by Redden for six. A solid effort by Christian Ortiz came up short by inches on the extra point.

Will Davis scored on a big 60 yard run down the left sideline. The drive featured another key run from Julian Watson. Orange TD (20-19) extra point good (22-19). To end the see saw scoring of the game, Calvin Borio zigged and zagged from 75 yards out to put the final stamp on the game. Ravens 25-22 Orange.